November Birding

We've had a mild fall.

Trees are turning.  (insert - family joke)

But last night we had a hard frost. 

BRRRR cold!

Birding is the 1st Saturday of the month and I wasn't sure if anyone would turn up.

But 3 other brave souls did!  Off we took to listen and see what birds were out and about on this nice, cold November morning.

 The first bird we saw was a Carolina wren.  They are one of my favorite birds!



The photos of birds in this post I got off the web since I didn't bring my camera.  And because even when I bring my camera, I'm not the best photographer and don't have the BIG zoom lens you need to get these shots).
                              
Wrens are just so adorable!  I love their chatter!   You can listen here:



Wrens are such good subjects for paintings.
                                             


We continued our 3 mile hike.

Some places sell hedgeballs but in this state they grow in abundance for anyone to pick!

 They make for pretty decorations.

or to get rid of crickets in your garage or home.

Hannah, can you see the horses off in the distance?

Sometime we will only spot a bird and they won't sing.  

Or we will hear the song but not see the bird.

There were quite a few birds this day.

A neck can only take so much craning!! 

And a lot of craning we did!

 Next month there will be more leaves off the trees and we'll be able to see more birds, hopefully!

We could see a brown creeper in this tree.  It just blends right into the bark.  Just a tiny, cute little bird!  Without a zoom lens, I couldn't capture it.  The camera phone doesn't do justice.

See how he would blend in?  They climb up the trees, often passing downward-facing nuthatches.

 white breasted nut hatch

(we saw these too)

Another little tiny bird we saw was the golden crowned kinglet.  

Our guide first heard it and then we spotted it.

You can hear their song here:

Little bird, little bird

I wonder at how thou art.

Though high on the tips

of branching boughs,

I on the ground a-creeping!

                                                    Old Celtic poem

The white throated sparrow makes the sound 

"Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody"

or "Old sweet Canada, Canada, Canada"  (for Kendall and Pastor Dave)

Besides having a professional birder who guides us, we also have a botanist and he tells us things about the plants and trees we see along the way. 

 This tree is a Kentucky coffee tree.

"The seed may be roasted and used as a substitute for coffee beans; however, unroasted pods and seeds are toxic. The wood from the tree is used by cabinetmakers and carpenters."

We were told that these berries are eaten by birds only as a last choice.

We were at the end of the trail when we saw a flock of cedar waxwings!

We counted 20!

Aren't they a beautiful bird?!

What a fun bird walk!  I was cold and ready to go home for a nice cup of jo!